Why has the United Arab Emirates been targeted by Iran since the start of the war?

The United Arab Emirates have been a favored target since the start of the war on February 28, even more so than Israel. The air defense intercepted another 15 missiles on Monday May 4, while drones caused a fire on an oil site and injured three people.

Si l’Iran “had no plans to target the Emirates”said Iranian state television, citing an unidentified high-ranking official, the regime disapproves of the rapprochement of its neighbor with the Hebrew state, with which links are now powerful and numerous. These strikes, which occurred after a month of truce, bring the total number of attacks on the Emirates to nearly 550 ballistic missiles, 29 cruise missiles and more than 2,200 drones, according to a press release from the Ministry of Defense Emirati on X.

With the Abraham Accords, signed in 2020 in Washington, the United Arab Emirates – like Bahrain then Morocco and Sudan – recorded the normalization of their relations with Israel. But since then, the relationship has gone much further than a simple opening of diplomatic and commercial ties. The Emirates condemned the Hamas attacks of October 7, 2023, they supported power in Yemen against the Houthi rebels allied with Iran. And economic, security and military partnerships with Israel have reached such a level that we can speak of a strategic alliance.

While at one time the federal capital Abu Dhabi was able to help Tehran circumvent international sanctions and serve as a financial backstop, the Emirates today consider Iran as a regional threat.

For the Iranian regime, the country has therefore become a hostile neighbor and, according to the American press, the Emirates have benefited, to defend themselves in recent weeks, from the Israeli Iron Dome, becoming the first Arab country to benefit from this advanced technology of anti-aircraft defense.

Since the start of the war, Tehran has sought to divide the Gulf countries and, in particular, to strengthen tensions between the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. However, this rivalry continues to grow, as symbolized last week by the Emirati decision to leave OPEC, the Organization of Petroleum Producing Countries, and to manage its production on its own, from now on, without bowing to the demands of the Saudis.

Beyond a battle over energy issues, the Emirates and Saudi Arabia are openly competing for regional hegemony. And the two countries do not have at all the same position regarding Iranian attacks.

While Riyadh tempers its comments and favors diplomacy, the United Arab Emirates toughens its tone, takes retaliatory measures against Tehran and denounces the passivity of the Gulf countries. “These attacks constitute a dangerous escalation”denounced the Emirati Ministry of Foreign Affairs after Monday’s attack, stressing that the country reserved the right to retaliate.

In fact, it is a risky choice to attack the Emirates. If Iran continues its strategy of regional tension and economic destabilization, it is targeting here a country which has oil terminals beyond the Strait of Hormuz, with therefore the capacity to continue its oil deliveries. In addition, Tehran is exposed to a response, which has never happened since the end of February from its neighbors. It may also provide an argument for Israel and the United States to resume military operations.